When asked why this company was attractive to her, Ms. Howatson noted that she had always been delighted by the enthusiasm of the magazines’ followers. The terms “Brand Enthusiast’s and “Mavens” come to mind, and she was one of them!

Ms. Howatson has had an extensive career in media and has published some of the country’s best magazines, including Self magazine and Travel + Leisure where she was the first female publisher at both Condé Nast and American Express Publishing. Subsequently, as Group Publisher at Gruner+Jahr USA, a division of Bertelsmann, she oversaw the growth and strategic positioning of Parents, YM, Expecting, Baby Care and the Ser Padres network of Spanish language publications.

During the first Internet boom, she was a founding member of ScreamingMedia/Pinnacor which streamed content solutions and syndication services to Fortune 1000 companies, portals and wireless networks in seven languages.

Ms. Howatson was born and educated in Scotland at Craigie College, Ayr, and Jordanhill College, Glasgow, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. She lives in a home that “hangs over” a river in Connecticut and in her free time you can find her browsing in design and antique shops.